It’s over Ousmane Dembele has been told to leave Barcelona ‘as soon as possible’ as a move to Chelsea is being mooted.
Dembele was informed by Xavi on Wednesday that he would have to depart Camp Nou unless he signed a new contract.
The winger is not willing to pen fresh terms, director of football Mateu Alemany revealed on Thursday, paving the way for the Frenchman to depart.
However, Dembele’s agent Moussa Sissoko stressed that the impasse was not down to financial disagreements, but instead as a result of Barcelona manager Xavi’s poor management style, which he openly criticised last week.
Reports had also suggested Dembele was given just 48 hours to sign a reduced deal.
Sissoko said: ‘They’re putting the pressure on, but it doesn’t work with people like us. Maybe it works with agents who are close to Barcelona. That’s not the case with me, I’m here to defend my player’s interests.
‘We’re not here to react to debates on social media, but the truth has to be said. Yes, we have high demands, but we’ve shown in the past that Ousmane’s career choices are not dictated by money, else he wouldn’t be here [Manchester United and Real Madrid had higher offers in 2017].
‘Then, if Barcelona wanted to negotiate, they could have come to the table with us to talk.
‘Except there are no discussions and there are threats coming from them that he won’t play.
‘That’s not allowed. We will exercise Ousmane Dembele’s rights if necessary.
‘We don’t know what we’re going to do, nothing is decided. But the management are losing Ousmane by themselves
